The Former Capital of the Inca Empire

The city of Cuzco is very often called Cusco,
but sometimes Qusqu. All 3 terms are correct.

It was the capital of the
Inca Empire and
today it is the biggest city in the region, one with an airport, 2 railway
stations, lots of hotels and travel agencies.

Many buses depart from Cuzco to towns and
archaeological sites in the area.

The vast majority of travelers who arrive to
the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu
pass through this city. It is the best idea to set this city as a "base",
or "outgoing point", as it is the only major city in the area and it will
be the place where you will have to go, should you encounter any problems.

Although, Cuzco is not located in the Sacred
Valley of the Incas, it is the biggest economical, cultural,
infrastructural center in the area.

The city is 35 km (22 mi) from
Písac, the closest town from
the Sacred Valley. In a straight line, we could say that Cuzco is about
half as close to the Sacred Valley.

Cuzco is growing rapidly. When we launched
this site in 2006, Cuzco has a population of 320.000 people. In early 2010
it was inhabited by 390.000.

The metropolitan area of Cuzco overpasses
half a million inhabitants (as of early 2010 estimates).

The city is not only a good starting point
for those wanting to visit the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and other
nearby attractions, itself is a major travel destination.

Cuzco has several important attractions:
interesting ancient Inca walls, old colonial Catholic churches, it also
hosts the annual Inti Raymi Festival (dedicated to the Inca Sun God called
Inti).

Attractions in and around Cuzco

First of all you should see the Coricancha -
an old Inca temple,
the Spanish colonial churches and other religious places, the Plaza de
Armas, walk the narrow streets and visit the Cuzco area attractions.

And now let's take a look at what you must
see and do when in the city!

Plaza de Armas (The Main Square)

This is where your visit
should start.

The previous name of the Plaza de Armas was
Huacaypata, which can be translated to "The Square of the Warrior".

Here you'll see churches, shops, restaurants
and bars.

Part of the Inti Raymi festival in late June
every year is held here. You can have a great time visiting Cuzco if you
can catch the colourful event.

Lots of taxis wait around the Plaza de Armas
and you will probably meet people offering "cheap hotels", tourist guide
services or wanting to take your luggage. Excuse yourself politely, but
categorically and reject the offers.

You may never know who drags you into what.
It's better to be precautions. This is especially important in case you
want to get a taste of Cuzco nightlife.

The Plaza de Armas,
the Main Square of Cuzco

Coricancha (Qorikancha) and the Church of
Santo Domingo

It is a temple-church... a combination of
Inca and Spanish architecture.

The Coricancha used to be an Inca temple, but
the Spaniards and turned it into a Catholic church.

This is the top attraction of Cuzco, you
mustn't miss it!

The Incas had built the Coricancha (meaning
"Golden Courtyard") as a ceremonial complex containing multiple stone
buildings.

Following the Spanish conquest, as it
happened with other Inca temples, it was mostly demolished, but many of
its stonebricks were kept and embedded into the newer Spanish Church of
Santo Domingo. Today the two are almost one and the same. In fact, part of
the Santo Domingo Church is the partially intact Coricancha.

Much of the original Inca ceremonial complex
is gone forever, perished. But the Spaniards had "implanted" part of the
original walls and stone blocks into their church.

In Inca times, the Coricancha was used as a
ceremonial place at each summer solstice.

The Inca ruler sat down on a throne and the
Sun's light was let through a "whole" in the wall, directing it towards
him. Let's mention here that the Incas considered their rulers what we
might call demigods.

Specialists say that approximately 4.000
religious Incas (priests etc.) live in the Coricancha.

Part of this complex was used as an
astronomical observatory.

The interior of the Coricancha was decorated
with objects made of silver and gold and among them was, perhaps the
biggest treasure of the Incas (ever), the Golden Sun Disk - a sacred
object of very high importance.

The silver and gold objects in the Coricancha
were mostly statuettes representing llamas, the Sun, babies, but even
corn.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the
conquistadores used the Coricancha as an accommodation facility. They
slept and ate there like at an inn.

The Coricancha was also used as a tomb where
several
Inca rulers were buried.

Today it is a museum and you inside it you
will see interesting old objects: ceramics, statuettes, even
well-preserved textiles from the Inca period. Certainly, most of these
objects do not originate from the Coricancha, but they were put here to
show tourists "what might have been inside" and most importantly to get
them see and imagine what artifacts the Incas had created.

Similarly to the ancient Egyptians, the Incas
had a special artistical sense. Original Inca design is unforgettable and
distinguishable even among pre-Columbian cultures.

A combination of Inca and Spanish architecture at theCoricancha (Qorikancha)

Museo de Arte Precolombino

As you can understand from its name, it's a pre-Columbian art museum, which
means that you can see lots of artifacts from various cultures that
inhabited today's Peru (this even includes cultures that have coexisted or
have pre-dated the Inca culture).

Museo Historico Regional

The museum is inside the building where historian Garcilaso de la
Vega had lived. He is considered to be one of the main sources of
information regarding Inca civilization. Himself partly Inca, Garcilaso de
la Vega has left behind many writings, details about sayings and facts
regarding the Inca civilization and the areas around Cuzco.

The museum contains many paintings that are
over 300 years-old.

Museo de Arte Popular

A popular art museum for those interested in learning about this
Peruvian traditional art.

Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo

An art museum in the Municipal Palace containing contemporary art pieces.
You can access it from Plaza Regocijo.

San Blas District

Part of Cuzco's center, the San Blas District is just a short walk away from
the Main Square (Plaza de Armas)

The San Blas Church, built in the 16th
century (also upon an Inca temple). The Spanish name of this church is
Parroquia de San Blas.

Shops, restaurants and bars and artists
selling their work are among the main attractions of the San Blas area.

The main part of this area is the Plaza de
San Blas (the San Blas Square).

It is particularly interesting to walk on the
streets, many of which contain steps and have cobbled road (stones put
together instead of asphalt).

The Inca Walls and the Stone of Twelve Angles

The part close to the Plaza de Armas is
especially interesting. We recommend you to walk along the walls on the
narrow streets and look for the famous Stone of Twelve Angles. This piece
is inserted between many other stones like a huge puzzle.

TheCalle Loreto... Impressive prefect Inca-style walls!

Ajlla Wasi or the Santa Catalina Convent

It is also known as the "House of the Virgins of the Sun".

At the time of the Incas, Ajlla Wasi was a religious building where chosen
virgins had lived.

Following the Spanish conquest, it was
transformed by the Christians into a Catholic convent. Today it is called
the Santa Catalina Convent

The Ajlla Wasi was taken by the Spaniards and transformed into a Catholic
convent, called Santa Catalina Convent.

Spanish Colonial Cathedral

An ancient Spanish church. Such buildings can
be found almost everywhere in Latin America. In Quito, Lima, Cuzco, Bogotá
etc.

It's a beautiful church, both inside and
outside. You will feel like you went back into the colonial period of
Peru.

Q'enko (Kenko) - used
to be a religious site of the Incas, located on a hill near Cuzco

You can get on foot to Sacsayhuamán, which is
northwest, just outside of Cuzco. It is the most impressive site in the
area. You will see stoneblocks the size of small trucks put together,
forming solid walls.

If you want to be sure to visit the most important archaeological site
near Cuzco, then go see Sacsayhuamán. It is perhaps among the top 5 places
to see in the whole Cuzco - Machu Picchu - Sacred Valley area

Getting Used to Cuzco, Acclimatization

After arriving, take your time to relax and
to get used to the local climate, atmospherical conditions. It is 3.400 m
above sea level, conditions which are likely to produce some negative
effects on those who aren't used to be so high.

Normally adaptation is very easy. And about
30 % of people don't feel typical altitude sickness at all in Cuzco.

To many travelers, Cuzco is the place for
acclimatization.

Hikers and bikers stay here for days just to
get used to the thin air.

If you feel any discomfort after arriving, then make sure you take the
following measures: relax, put less physical effort and drink the
locally-prepared Coca tea

In case you feel very bad, then we recommend
you to do little gymnastics, but nothing hard in your hotel room,
eventually massage your feet in order to improve blood circulation.

Cuzco: a park imitating ancient Inca architecture

Being Precautious, Avoiding Possible Dangers
in Cuzco

There are thieves who stalk tourists.

Don't look "expensive". Make sure you wear
simple clothes and that you don't look like you are the "western tourist
showing off" - you'd be shining like a nickel on the bottom of a lake and
that's what make naive tourists magnets for pickpockets.

Swindles, frauds are frequent. Don't accept
any drinks from strangers and don't use "taxi-like" services if the car
doesn't look like a taxi at all.

Keep your valuables hidden, never at a single
place.

Always excuse yourself politely with "no gracias" when encountering
suspect-looking people trying to sell you something or invite you
somewhere

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